High School Class: Trent Perry and Eric Freeny.
Transfer Class: Kobe Johnson, Eric Dailey, Tyler Bilodeau, Skyy Clark, William Kyle and Dominick Harris.
Bossi’s Take: The evolution of Mick Cronin at UCLA will be televised more than ever now that the Bruins are out of the Pac-12 and part of the Big Ten.
After relying on roster continuity and veterans earlier in his Westwood tenure, Cronin went heavy on Internationals last season and it just didn’t work out. There are still some foreign players on the current roster, but Cronin is now making his first major foray into the portal market since taking the UCLA job.
On paper, the results look good. Real good. In fact, the Bruins transfer class looks like it may be better than the No. 9 ranking it’s been assigned by the rankings algorithm. It sure checks a lot of boxes.
Johnson is an elite defender with more offense than advertised and could be a breakout player and NBA prospect during the 2024-25 season. Dailey can swing between the three and the four and is a sturdy forward who showed real flashes as a freshman. Bilodeau showed Cronin and company in person what he can do as a frontline scorer while Kyle is a bouncy athlete who can really rim run. After a couple of quiet years at Gonzaga, Harris made a ton of 3s at Loyola Marymount.
And then there’s Clark. He put up real numbers on a bad Louisville team. He could be a major problem in the backcourt if he is willing to totally buy in.
From the high school ranks, Freeny looks like a Cronin dude. Physical, plays hard and is a gamer. Perry is a McDonald’s All-American who initially signed with USC before committing to the Bruins a few days ago after getting his release from the Trojans. He’s got size, he’s got skill and he’s got a lot of experience in big games under his belt.
